Emily and Brian

Emily and Brian’s wedding was one that has been in the making since the two were in middle school. Childhood friends, turned high school sweethearts, Emily and Brian got married on July 8th at the stunningly beautiful Wells Barn at the Franklin Park Conservatory. Their color scheme was blush and ivory with pops of dusty blue to create a timeless elegance.

The ceremony was set outside, with a string quartet welcoming Emily and her Dad down the aisle, to meet her emotionally stricken groom (who says he has been waiting since 8th grade for this day *swooooon*). The ceremony was conducted by Brian’s bible study leader from college, with a worship song performed by Emily’s cousin, and readings by both of the Dads. It was important to the couple to have their family play a large role in their ceremony, as they play a large role in their lives.

Cocktail hour was outside in the flower gardens of FPC. Emily is a self-proclaimed foodie, so choosing the menu for both the cocktail hour and the reception was a very important piece of the wedding day. It is so important to us to highlight aspects of the day that are important to the Bride and Groom so that their personalities and interests really shine through to their guests.

Following cocktail hour, guests moved inside of the Wells Barn to get the party started. We created depth in the room by having 2 table linen colors and 3 different centerpiece options, varying both in height and items used. The tablescape was gorgeous with a white charger, gold flatware and clear and dusty blue goblet glasses, topped with a menu card. A delectable dual plated dinner was served by Two Caterers, and Conspiracy got (and kept) guests on the dance floor all night!

For the guest book, guests signed a book of photos from around Columbus, where both Emily and Brian grew up and where their romance began.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. A grandmother’s broach, a new wedding dress, a pair of Emily’s grandmother’s earrings, blue shoes to check all of the boxes.

Emily wanted a very natural feel for everything at the wedding, including invitations. Invitations set the tone for the entire event as it is the first item guests receive. Cheer Up Press and the Lesser Bear did such a beautiful job creating invitations and ribbon that met this vision. We love adding personalized touches whenever possible, even down to the detail of the monogrammed stamp on the invitation.

Emily and Brian attributed a character gift to each of their bridesmaids/groomsmen on their ceremony program so that their guests could better get to know their tribe.

Emily and Brian did not want to do a first look, so that Brian’s reaction was really captured when Emily walked down the aisle to meet her groom. So instead, they decided to hide themselves around a corner to pray together before becoming man and wife.

From the very first time we met, Emily had said she wanted a lot of flowers, with an airy and flowy feel. State and Arrow worked their floral brilliance to bring that desire to life with the floral arch at the ceremony, the centerpieces and bouquets.

Emily’s niece Mia was the perfect age of 3 to make for an adorable flower girl!

We wanted to ensure the guests were taken care of during the ceremony on the hot July day. So to make sure everyone was hydrated and ready to dance the night away, we had fruit infused water for guests as they walked into the ceremony.

The bride and groom’s high school mascot was the Golden Bear. So naturally, their signature drink at the reception was the “Golden Bear” aka a Moscow Mule.

For another personalized touch at the reception, Emily and Brian hand-wrote notes to every single one of their guests to portray how important they were to the both of them and how much it meant to have them there.

Instead of giving the guests a physical gift, a donation was made to two funds in honor of Brian’s late Uncle and Emily’s late Aunt.

To create a united look throughout the entire event, we ensure that all paper goods have a similar design. The hand-drawn garland was consistent throughout every single paper item- from the invitation to the table numbers to the bar signs.

To make the Bride and Groom’s seat at the head table stand out, we had a cream love seat for the happy couple to sit on together. Down the center of the head table was a silk table runner by The Lesser Bear to keep the natural and airy feel that we wanted.

It is a tradition in Emily’s family that her dad makes a birthday cake for each of his daughter’s birthday. So when deciding who would make Emily’s wedding cake, it was a no- brainer that her dad make the cake for the couple, topped with a saying that summarized their relationship “It was Always You”. For dessert, instead of serving the traditional cake to their guests, we wanted to bring in more family traditions (because this family has A LOT!). Brian’s mom is known for her famous Caramel Brownies, so guests were served Caramel Brownies and Graeter’s ice cream, an Ohio “must-have”. But wait, there’s more! For late night food, Raising Cane’s chicken made its way to the reception. Not a tradition, but c’mon, who doesn’t like themselves some Raising Cane’s! Another item that Emily had wanted since our first meeting was a lounge for their guests to enjoy. We curated a 4 piece lounge using Aiden and Grace items, that was first used in the gardens at the cocktail hour, and then moved to be used again outside of the reception if guests wanted to rest their dancing feet. We love when items can be repurposed so that you can enjoy them as much as possible throughout the night!

Congratulations, Emily and Brian! It was so much fun having you two as an MMJ couple!